


In Transition

by BetanSurvey (Scedasticity)



Series: Metamorphosis [1]
Category: Farscape
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-29
Updated: 2012-12-29
Packaged: 2017-11-22 19:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/613435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scedasticity/pseuds/BetanSurvey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Now, I have seen cases of transit madness before..." --Aeryn, <i>Beware of Dog</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	In Transition

**Author's Note:**

> Written summer 2006.

The injection the medtech had given her had worn off about an arn before, but there was absolutely no way she would ask for another one. She was a soldier, and she could endure pain. She could even ignore how uncomfortable the standard-size immobilizer/osteostimulator on her leg was. And cold. And sharp, where the edge of it dug into her other thigh.

It wasn't fair, though. She'd heard the instructor say the scaling block had been shoddily constructed, which meant she was at fault for neither its collapse nor her own subsequent fall. Some fool of a tech would be taking punishment for that. But she was still the one in Medical with a fractured leg.

And why had it collapsed under *her*, anyway? She knew she wasn't as large as many cadets her age. But the miserable thing had held up as Onat, who everyone knew was bound for *heavy* infantry, lumbered over it, and then collapsed under *her*, Aeryn "Can't reach the pedals in the simulator" Sun.

_I'm going to be a pilot, though. A great pilot. I place well in the sim-drills even *without* using the pedals, and I made it all the way up the wall before it... broke._ And the instructor had even given an approving nod at her stoicism as she crawled clear of the debris, dragging her useless leg. Remembering the *snap* as she landed still gave her a strange feeling in her stomach, so she tried not to.

Aeryn stared up at the ceiling and wished she could sleep. But even if her leg hadn't hurt so much, and the immobilizer hadn't been so uncomfortable, and the medical bay lights hadn't been so bright, the recruit in the next bed would not stop *mumbling*, just quietly enough that she couldn't make out a word.

As a carrier-born cadet, she hadn't had much contact with conscripts. She knew that within the next few cycles, recruits who satisfied basic requirements would begin trickling into the cadet barracks, but so far, her group hadn't had any *ex-civilians.*

Presumably this one wasn't normal, or else she really didn't see why High Command bothered.

The strange thing was that there were three recruits in this medical unit. Perhaps there was some disease in their dormitory? Sebaceans outside the Peacekeepers couldn't be expected to be in proper condition. At least the other two were being quieter, though. The one across the way from her was sitting up in bed, studying a text, rocking back and forth slightly as she did so. Flat on her back, Aeryn couldn't see the third one at all, but she'd noticed him, in his gray conscript's uniform, when they'd carried her in. All three recruits looked a little older than Aeryn, maybe about ten cycles old.

Aeryn wondered how the recruit across the way had gotten a text. Not that studying was her favorite activity, but she was becoming *quite* weary of staring at the ceiling.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a *shriek* from the other end of the unit. The mumbling stopped and the studying recruit looked up as two officers carried over someone who was apparently having a fit, shrieking and thrashing uselessly. From the gray uniform, it was *another* recruit. What was wrong with all the frelling recruits?

The officers were followed by a sour-faced junior medtech. "Just put him there," he said, indicating the bed next to Studying Recruit. "Hold him while I apply the restraints, please, officers? There. Trainer Grezek didn't happen to say how many more of these we should expect, did he?" Aeryn wondered if he'd noticed that Studying Recruit was watching him from behind the text, and Mumbler had raised his head.

"No. There are more than usual in this lot."

"I noticed," said the medtech. "Thank you, officers, that will be all."

All three moved away, the officers leaving the medical unit entirely. Aeryn wished she could have asked the medtech for another injection for her leg, but she was a soldier, and soldiers endured pain.

The shrieking went on for a while, so it did her no good that Mumbler had shut up. Aeryn clenched her teeth and stared at the ceiling. Soldiers endured. They did not complain. *Why*, for the love of Chilnack, hadn't the medtechs sedated him? Had the carrier run short of drugs? Was this some bizarre endurance test? Oh, it was all very well for the medtechs, *they* could go off to work in a different unit of Medical.

Finally, *finally*, the shrieking trailed off into ragged gasps and sobs, and eventually into silence. The unit seemed unnaturally quiet, until Mumbler spoke intelligibly for the first time since Aeryn's arrival.

"I told you we'd have him in here soon," he said softly.

"So you did," said Studying Recruit.

"You didn't believe me."

"No," said the recruit on the far side of Mumbler, "we didn't want to hear anything else your uncle told you."

"He was right about Kulin, wasn't he?"

"You could have figured that out yourself."

Studying Recruit pointedly looked back at her text. "I'm not having this conversation again. You two shouldn't, either."

"If your uncle's so clever, why don't you tell us what happens to us next."

"He can't see the future, idiot."

"No, he can't. He can't see anything at all, given as he's *dead*."

"Neither of you is giving in on this, why don't you both stand down for a while? I think we all could use some rest."

"Oh, I know *you* could, Rota," snapped Mumbler. "When was the last time you slept through the night?"

"It was about the same time you started talking to your dead uncle," said Far-Side-Recruit. "Fahrbot, the both of you."

The quiet that followed seemed... *weightier*, somehow. Aeryn looked over to see Mumbler making faces at Studying Recruit, who just shook her head. Mumbler groaned, flopped back, and pulled his sheet over his face. And started mumbling again.

 

Between the pain in her leg and the fact that Medical apparently did not dim lights for sleep cycle, Aeryn got little rest. She was already awake when Studying Recruit spasmed awake with a yell, tumbled out of bed, and vanished into a supply cabinet.

_Why -- why the *frell* did she do that?_

There was a muffled groan from Mumbler. "Rota's done it again."

"What are you going to do about it?" asked Far-Side-Recruit.

"Nothing. Last time she bit me. The frelling medtechs can pry her out."

The sour-faced medtech arrived a few hundred microts later. "What was that noise? Where's Recruit Hisele?"

Aeryn couldn't even sit up straight, but she tried to *look* at attention -- even if this was just a medtech. "In the supply cabinet, medtech."

The medtech cast her an unreadable look. "Recruit Hisele, what are you doing in there?" he said. When there was no response, he kicked the cabinet. There was a high, thin whimper. "Recruit Hisele, stop that *at once*!" When there was no response, he yanked the cabinet open and reached in, only to jerk back sharply.

"She bites," said Mumbler. "She'll come out on her own after the sleep cycle's over, when she wakes up."

"I didn't ask for your input, Recruit."

Aeryn surreptitiously watched in fascination as the medtech struggled to drag a ten-cycle-old recruit out of a supply cabinet. It didn't seem like it should be so hard. She knew most medtechs weren't up to combat, but still!

"Recruit, get *out* of there, or you will be on report!"

"It's no good talking to her when she's like this," said Far-Side-Recruit. "Why do you think she's here?"

"Her and everyone else from your colony of genetic defectives," snarled Sour-Faced Medtech. "*Recruit*!"

A second medtech strode into the unit, doubtless attracted by the commotion. "Blaz, what is going on in here? I would like some order in -- is one of the recruits in there?"

"*Yes*, one of the *frelling* recruits is in there, and she frelling *bit* me! And *that* lot have been insubordinate!" He waved a hand around the entire unit, including in his condemnation Aeryn, who'd tried to *help*, and the shrieking recruit, who was still unconscious. Aeryn stiffened in indignation, but she could hardly protest -- that really would be insubordinate.

Fortunately, the new medtech did not seem completely convinced. "Blaz, in these particular cases no one should be surprised by insubordination. And while I'm not happy about having to deal with so many at once, either, it is our *duty*, and we will *do* it."

The new medtech must be senior to Sour-Faced Medtech, because he clenched his jaw and didn't say anything, though plainly he wanted to. "Yes, sir."

"Now, which recruit is in there?"

"Hisele, sir. The girl."

The senior medtech pressed a control on Studying Recruit's (although perhaps Aeryn would have to rethink that identifier) vacated bed, and looked at the information projected. "This looks like a standard incident for Recruit Hisele."

_*What* about this -- this *mess* is *standard*?_

"Sir, if I may ask, why haven't--" Sour-Faced Medtech broke off, then continued in a quieter voice, though not quiet enough. "Why haven't we terminated her from the program? She's clearly deficient--"

"Medtech, transit madness happens sometimes, in recruits. Granted, it's unusual to have this many at once--"

"From the same colony--"

"Yes, and I'm going to recommend someone look into that, but these recruits may well be salvagable." The senior medtech took a wary look into the storage cabinet. "In particular, Fernaj wants Hisele as a diagnostic technician."

"Since when do we take orders from Fernaj?"

"Since I like my equipment repaired in a timely fashion, Blaz... you'd better get a sedative."

Sour-Faced Medtech left looking even more sour than before, while the senior medtech tapped a foot on the floor, staring at the cabinet. Mumbler and Far-Side-Recruit were in turn staring at the senior medtech. Aeryn was beginning to feel invisible. She was a *soldier* -- all right, a cadet -- but surely that deserved *some* respect?

Mumbler had started muttering again. "...wretched medtechs. Just has bad dreams, that's all. Well, not all. Rota has been odd. Not as bad as Kulin, though. But it's not really *madness*. Do you think? No, I know. I'll do it. You'll be proud of me. Just wait. ...Stupid carrier-borns, always thinking they're better'n everyone else..."

Frelling right she thought she was better than a recruit with transit madness! After all, *he* wouldn't shut up, while *she* was staying stoically quiet even though her leg really, really, really, really *hurt*.

Transit madness, though... she'd heard of it, whispered of in the creche, subject of occasional jokes in the barracks, but she'd never seen it before. For that matter, Aeryn was not convinced those of her comrades who claimed to have seen someone with transit madness had been telling the truth, especially now that *she'd* seen the real thing. _And not *one* of these recruits thinks he is a vorlag._ Not that hiding in the storage cabinet and biting the medtech wasn't quite bad enough. _Ha, maybe she *does* think she's a vorlag..._

Sour-Faced Medtech *finally* returned with the injector, and Senior Medtech got Studying Recruit sedated and out of the cabinet without too much additional difficulty. Sour-Faced Medtech was apparently just unable to do anything useful.

Aeryn *wished* he would do something useful like *do something about her leg*! It was throbbing now, with every heartbeat, and she was beginning to think she could actually *feel* where the bone had broken. She was sure she could feel the osteostimulator tendrils they'd jabbed deep into her muscles.

It was even worse a few arns later, when she had to get up to walk to the toilet. Walking in the immobilizer was even more difficult than she'd imagined, and it *hurt* to move -- especially with the stimulator wires. It hurt so bad. Her eyes were already stinging with tears when she made it back to her bed and realized she had to somehow drag herself *up* into it.

It took five tries. By that time, all she could do was pull her sheet over her face and hope the recruits didn't realize it was to hide her crying. Exhaustion overcame her at last, and she slept.

 

She was awakened when Sour-Faced Medtech came in to quickly examine her leg, jerking it around with no concern for how it _felt_. He adjusted the controls for the osteostimulator, but offered no injection. Not long after that, a medtech trainee brought in food -- or food cubes, at least. Aeryn regarded her portion with little enthusiasm, but the recruits seemed to expect nothing else. Maybe recruits had food cubes all the time.

"That's mine," said Far-Side-Recruit. Sitting up, Aeryn could see the recruit had a shock of light hair, but not much else about him.

"What?" said Mumbler. "No it's not. We each got a usual-sized portion, and this is part of mine."

"No, it's not yours. It's mine. You must have snuck it off my plate."

"And how am I supposed to have done that, exactly?"

"Give it back now and I won't report you."

Mumbler crossed his arms. "Even if you report me, and even if they believe your stupid, wrong story, just what do you think they're going to do to me for swiping a food cube off your plate?"

One food cube, two people of equal -- and very low -- rank, no senior officer present... Nothing, probably. In fact, you'd be more likely to get yourself a reputation as a whiner. _Which I'm not. No matter how much my leg hurts._

"Give it *back*, Ilko. Give it back *now*."

Studying Recruit shot an anxious look at the door. "Maybe you'd better let him have it."

"Rota! You *know* it's mine--"

"Yes, but--"

"--and he's already *in* here for being transit-mad, it's not like they don't *know* already--"

"But do we really want a repeat of... of the thing with the boots?"

Abrupt silence. Shrieker winced. Mumbler threw something, presumably the food cube, at Far-Side-Recruit. And Senior Medtech came in, a little surprised to find them all so quiet.

"Recruits," she said. "You know by now that you are afflicted with the condition known as transit madness. This is a completely unacceptable disability in a Peacekeeper, who must be ready to travel wherever duty calls. However, it is treatable, and with enough effort you can all fulfill useful roles."

_She makes it sounds so exciting._ But then, Aeryn supposed you could hardly promise fahrbot recruits Prowler duty, or places in the front line.

Senior Medtech turned to address Shrieker. "Recruit, you will immediately begin a regimen of treatment to control your condition. Assuming you respond as expected, you can return to your unit within two solar days."

Personally, Aeryn would not have sent Shrieker anywhere but a squadron of menials. He certainly wasn't someone she'd want at her back in a fight.

"The rest of your cases are more unusual, as is often the case with transit madness, but we will begin exploring treatment possibilities today," Senior Medtech continued. "You are to cooperate fully with the treatment and give every effort to return to duty. If you have any questions, you may ask Medtech Blaz. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," the recruits chorused, and Senior Medtech left.

"Like we'd ask him anything," said Mumbler.

Shrieker was frowning. "She didn't say what happens if the treatment doesn't work. Would they send us ho-- Send us back to the colony?"

"Space us, probably," Far-Side-Recruit replied.

Shrieker frowned even more. "You think really?"

"Not literally," Studying Recruit said. "That could get... awkward. But I wouldn't be surprised if those who can't pull themselves together... disappear, one way or another."

"Made into food cubes," Far-Side-Recruit suggested. Studying Recruit and Shrieker looked horrified, but Mumbler just rolled his eyes.

"They don't make food cubes on carriers. They probably just disperse the bodies. Not that it would make much difference to us."

One of the cadets in Aeryn's unit had failed a few too many tests, two cycles ago, and had disappeared. The food cube story had gone around then, too, but she'd actually seen the ex-cadet half a cycle later. He'd been bumped down to Maintenance tech trainee, and was cleaning the simulators -- almost *worse* than being made into food cubes, but certainly not the same thing. _But transit-mad recruits are probably a lot less useful._

Sour-Faced Medtech came in, then. He directed Far-Side-Recruit and Mumbler to report for scans, gave Shrieker an injection, and outfitted Shrieker and Studying Recruit in strange wrist-rings that looked a little like control collars.

"Sir?" Studying Recruit said, with what Aeryn thought was more deference than was called for with a junior medtech, even from a recruit, "may I ask what this is?"

The medtech laughed shortly. "Oh, you'll see soon enough. Tonight, probably." And then he left, with barely a glance in Aeryn's direction.

"Frelling wonderful," Studying Recruit muttered. She scruntinzed the wrist-ring closely. "I think these are metabolic sensors... some sort of receiver for external control... and output nodes going under the skin. Bet you a food cube that if we get too alarmed, we get a nasty shock. *Frelling* wonderful. I don't know what good they think it's going to do on *you*, Kulin. It's only when you get near viewports that you, uh... panic."

"*I* don't know why they think they can make us calm down by shocking us."

_Soldiers should be able to tolerate pain, not let it overwhelm them._ As she was demonstrating *very* well by not begging for a painkiller. _But these two are *not* soldiers._ Techs weren't as strong as soldiers. Recruits... well, recruits were mixed, she guessed. But these two had to be tech-recruits. Far-Side-Recruit was bigger than the others; he might be soldier potential.

Not long after, Shrieker was summoned for some other kind of test. Aeryn stared at the ceiling for a while, then, since no one had told her not to, tried to do a few of her daily exercises. Much to her dismay, ten circuits of the room left her weak and trembling from more than her leg, which felt like it was breaking apart again. Surely she wasn't losing conditioning *already*! Maybe it was a side effect of the accelerated healing of her leg?

Happily, though, she found herself drifting off as soon as she lay down again. _I have to remember this. Work hard, really hard, and then I can sleep, no matter how much it hurts..._

 

She drifted awake to find that Medical seemed a little quieter, so it was probably sleep cycle. All the recruits were back, too.

"It's because we're recruits," Mumbler said, but he seemed to be talking to Studying Recruit, not himself. "He doesn't like us because we're recruits."

"Is that so," Studying Recruit replied. "What about her, then? She's carrier-born if I've ever seen one. Why doesn't he like her?"

"Because she's a cadet, probably, and he didn't qualify to be a cadet, back... whenever."

Aeryn raised her head, attention caught despite herself. Mumbler and Studying Recruit were both sitting forward, towards the foot-end of their beds. Shrieker was asleep. As usual, Aeryn couldn't see Far-Side-Recruit. "How do you know he doesn't like me?" she asked.

Both recruits looked at her, seeming a little surprised by the interruption. Then Studying Recruit snorted. "Well, why did you think you haven't gotten anything for pain in the last two solar days?"

"He's trying to make her ask for it," said Mumbler. "Bring down the mighty cadet. Not that that would be all bad--"

"Ilko, stop it. You'll get in more trouble."

"We're transit-mad, Rota, what are you thinking they'll do next?"

"They could shoot you."

"They won't shoot him, he's too frelling clever." That was Shrieker, not asleep after all.

"If he was clever -- which he's not, particularly -- it would make them *more* likely to shoot him," put in Far-Side-Recruit. Did no one in this unit ever sleep?

"At this rate they're going to shoot *you*, and no one will be sorry."

That apparently settled, Studying Recruit picked up her text again. Mumbler sighed. "Rota, you're going to have to sleep sometime." He paused, but Studying Recruit did not respond. "Come on, Rota. You won't be much better off if you get all weird from not sleeping."

"How would anyone tell?" asked Far-Side-Recruit.

"*No one* will be sorry. What did they decide about you two, anyway, Ilko?"

"Well, he's talking to his dead uncle--"

"And I asked him, not you."

"Makes no difference, they didn't tell us anything," Mumbler replied.

"The better to catch us off guard when they come to throw us out the airlock."

"Vonim, I have had just about *enough* of that," Studying Recruit snapped. "If they're going to kill us, there's nothing we can do about it."

"You're just worried it'll set you off -- being afraid of it."

Studying Recruit scowled, and didn't reply.

After a few more microts, Aeryn ventured, "Did you all know each other, on your colony?" She wasn't sure she should be talking to the recruits, but her leg hurt so much she wasn't sure she'd be able to fall asleep again, and she had the ceiling memorized already.

"Uh, yes," Mumbler said after a moment. "To different degrees. It's not a very big colony."

"So you're all in the same recruit unit?"

"For now." Mumbler glanced across at Studying Recruit, who was either absorbed in a text or faking it. "We'll be divided by aptitude soon. Well, everyone else in the unit will."

_Right. *You* lot will be tossed out the airlock or made into food cubes or thrown to razor-toothed vorlags or whatever they do with frelling fahrbot recruits._ "How did they decide who was transit-mad?"

"It wasn't very hard," Mumbler said.

"There's a window of time, where cases usually turn up," said Studying Recruit, subdued. "They seemed to be paying more attention. And then, well... like Ilko said, it wasn't very hard." She flushed, and looked away.

No, it wasn't that hard. Even Aeryn, who didn't know much about transit madness, could see what was wrong with them, mostly. Studying Recruit had that bizarre... sleepwalking thing. Shrieker had been carried in screaming. Mumbler seemed to think he was talking to his dead uncle. Nobody had said what was the matter with Far-Side-Recruit. _Except for something about a "thing with the boots"._ But -- the other three treated him with caution.

After that, the sleep cycle passed much as the previous one had. Mumbler delivered a long, rambling monologue on what Medical looked like, with occasional pauses for his dead uncle. Studying Recruit fell asleep finally, shot awake once again, and this time had some sort of fit in bed before collapsing into shakes. There was no cabinet-exploration or biting, so it seemed an improvement. Maybe the shock-wrist-ring *did* help -- or it had at least woken her up.

Studying Recruit looked horrible, gray-faced and unsteady on her feet, when Senior Medtech came by again. The medtech didn't seem at all surprised, but just had Sour-Faced Medtech give an injection to Studying Recruit and another to Shrieker, then took off Shrieker's wrist-ring. Shrieker -- or rather, Recruit Kulin Ressit -- was then ordered to report back to his barracks.

After Sour-Faced Medtech was gone, Studying Recruit spoke. "I guess Kulin responded to treatment as expected. Lucky drannit." She dropped back onto her bed and put her hands over her face.

"I think you're doing pretty well, too, Rota," Mumbler offered, sitting down himself. "You didn't even make it out of bed last night."

"I almost didn't make it out of bed this morning."

"They're not asking you to go from transit-mad to normal overnight."

Studying Recruit shrugged. "I notice they didn't do anything to either of you two. Still haven't decided what the matter is?"

"No." Mumbler sighed. "I can understand why... I mean, it's simple enough why Kulin panics and even you -- it's just nightmares, but..."

"Just nightmares?"

"Well, sort of nightmares. Really awful nightmares."

"I don't even know that there are nightmares, I can't remember anything--"

"You think you ended up in the cabinet without some sort of nightmare?"

Aeryn wondered what a nightmare was. Some sort of disturbing dream, it sounded like. She'd never been encouraged to think much about her dreams. Or at all. Mostly she didn't even remember them, as was expected.

"Anyway--" Mumbler stopped, and lowered his voice. "I heard the senior medtech say they want you for a diagnostic tech. You're *useful*, Rota."

"No, *anyway*, they still don't know how to fix what's wrong with you, Ilko. That's what we were speaking of. Or what's wrong with Vonim."

"There's nothing wrong with me," said Far-Side-Recruit.

Studying Recruit propped herself up on her elbows. "Yes there *is*, Vonim. You keep deciding you own things you really don't, like Jessan's boots or Ilko's food cubes, you think everyone in the universe is holding a grudge against you, just you, you reported people for things they hadn't done, you almost killed Jessan--"

"I need more practice."

For a recruit, he moved *frelling* fast. One microt Far-Side-Recruit was standing over near his bed while Studying Recruit snapped at him from hers, the next he had her pinned on the floor with his hands clenched around her throat. Studying Recruit clutched at his hands, tried to hit him, but she wasn't having any effect. Mumbler stumbled over, but Far-Side-Recruit threw him off easily, sending him crashing into the side of the cabinet. Studying Recruit's face was dark red. There was no sign of any medtechs.

Aeryn clenched her teeth to prevent any gasp of pain as she slid out of her bed. With the immobilizer, kicks were out of the question, so she delivered a hard jab to the back of Far-Side-Recruit's neck. It didn't take him down. "Get the medtech!" she ordered Mumbler, as Far-Side-Recruit lunged for her. She wasn't fast enough on her feet to elude his grab, but a head-butt to his face quite effectively made him let her go. He managed to hit her in the face and aimed a kick at the immobilizer, but she managed at the last moment to pivot away.

She had to finish this fast -- he wasn't wounded, at least not in body, and he was bigger than she was. But he didn't have the training--

As she'd hoped, he didn't recognize the pantak jab until it had him on the floor. Gasping for breath, not just with exertion but pain, Aeryn sat on his chest and held a hand ready to pinch an artery if he started coming around before the authorities arrived.

Happily, the authorities, in the form of both medtechs, arrived quickly, Mumbler just behind them. Senior Medtech looked at Aeryn, at Far-Side-Recruit, and finally at Studying Recruit, who managed to sit up but was wheezing and clutching her throat.

"Well," Senior Medtech said after a moment, "I see this case is out of control. Cadet, release him. Blaz, make sure her injuries haven't been aggravated, and check Hisele. I need to make the arrangements for Grent."

"You still think he might be salvageable?" Sour-Faced Medtech asked. Grent must be Far-Side-Recruit.

"There are special protocols for the lucid but violent type. He'll be transferred. Now get to it, Blaz."

A few scans showed she hadn't damaged her mostly-healed leg, but she still didn't get any painkillers.

 

Sour-Faced Medtech returned after the next sleep cycle -- which passed with only a minor disturbance from Studying Recruit -- to greet them all with his usual glower. After a once-over of the unit, he strode to Aeryn's bed and unlocked the immobilizer from her leg. There was so little warning, she barely managed to stifle a gasp as the osteostimulator wires were yanked out of her flesh, leaving scarcely-visible pinpricks.

"Stay here until the senior medtech clears you to leave," he ordered, then, with an even less happy expression then usual, he turned to Studying Recruit and handed her a chip and a folded pile of brown cloth. "Tech Trainee Hisele, your uniform and orders. Report to your new supervisor within the arn."

"Sir," Studying Recruit... no, Tech Trainee Hisele replied. As a *Tech* Trainee, she was in the tech chain of command and still answerable to the medtech.

Sour-Faced Medtech made a very brief examination of Mumbler, then left. Aeryn's eyes were fixed on the door, waiting for the senior medtech. Soon she would be back where she belonged, and could get back to training.

"Cadet Sun?" Hisele said, a little hesitantly. Aeryn turned, a little startled, to see that the trainee had already donned her tech's uniform. "Cadet, I... If it isn't forward of me, Cadet Sun, I wanted to thank you for saving my life."

Mumbler snorted. "Yes, she's going to tear your head off for thanking her, Rota."

The trainee ignored him, but regarded Aeryn steadily. Aeryn could only shake her head. "I was just doing my duty, Re--Trainee."

The tech trainee nodded once, then went to stand by Mumbler's bed. She put her hand on his shoulder and they exchanged a few words, too quiet for Aeryn to hear. Then, after a swift check that there were no medtechs in sight, they hugged, hard, just for a moment. Tech Trainee Hisele backed up a few steps, swallowed hard, then turned and walked out of the unit without looking back.

The senior medtech arrived to examine Aeryn's leg almost at once. She ran a few scans and prodded the leg by hand before nodding. "You're cleared to return to training, Cadet Sun, but you're on medical light duty. Get dressed and report to your instructor. We'll summon you in ten solar days to confirm the leg has healed properly."

"Yes, Senior Medtech. Thank you, Senior Medtech."

The senior medtech left as quickly as she had arrived, no doubt with a great deal else to do. Aeryn got a proper pair of cadet uniform trousers from the supply cabinet, only a few denches too long. Fortunately her own boots were stowed in the tiny locker underneath the bed. She scowled at the stiffness of her right knee as she bent to fasten the boot, then scowled again when she saw the blood on the boot. She would have to clean it as soon as she returned to her barracks. It was wonderful to walk without the immobilizer, though now she would have to unlearn favoring that leg. Aeryn hoped *quite* fervently that she would never be confined to Medical again.

She did look back as she left, though, and saw Mumbler, alone, staring into space, muttering to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is inspired mostly by a couple of lines from Aeryn in _Beware of Dog_ : "Crichton, you've told me yourself that your species isn't accustomed to being in space for long periods of time. Now, I have seen cases of transit madness before..."
> 
> So transit madness affects people who aren't used -- or whose species aren't used -- to being in space for long periods of time. Aeryn was born on a command carrier, raised among Peacekeepers. Where did she see it? What is transit madness, anyway? This is my short take on the answers to both questions.


End file.
